Saturday 4 August 2012

why are most YA books shit?

Really, why? I've been going through several books for the last one week and I really can't bring myself to finish any of them. I consider myself a patient reader- at least when it comes to YA- but all these books seem to be taking a severe toll on my mental health. I found a few gems along the way so I guess that's a small price to pay.

For starters, consider The Boy Who Sneaks in my Bedroom Window by Kirsty Mosely. I only got through about 25% of the book before giving up because you know what? It was like reading amateur fanfiction. And trust me, I read a shitload of fanfiction and this book was like a story by a fifteen year old who wants the two main protagonists to hook up. It had zero depth and I really don't care what colour of eyeliner this girl (I think her name was Angel) wore to school and how Liam or whatever was so gorgeous and he protected her from the severe trauma she suffered at the hands of an abusive father. Oh yeah, and she's a part of a street dance gang.

My problem was that it lacked any form of connection and continuity and the characters were so incredibly one dimensional. It's not even worth wasting an afternoon of free time on.

The other books on my abandoned bookshelf are The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse and Destiny Binds by Tammy Blackwell. I usually have a good time reading even the crappiest paranormal and dystopian YA books but I really had to give up with these two. Too painful. Zero depth and stupid characters.

The books I managed to get through were The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab, In The Woods by Tana French, Something Like Normal by Trish Doller and I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga. And I guess if I'm talking about all the books I've read in the last one month, I should include Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar.

The Near Witch and Raw Blue were okayish. I don't enjoy fantasy too much but The Near Witch was interesting enough. It definitely dragged in parts but worth spending time on- especially if you enjoy fantasy. Raw Blue was on a completely different tangent- it's realistic fiction about a rape victim trying to deal with her problems with surfing. It didn't really hit me hard or touch me on a deeper level or anything (contrary to severel glowing reviews on goodreads) but it was an okay read.

Something Like Normal is realistic fiction too, about a Marine suffering from PTSD. It's a fast read and fun enough. (I managed to shed a tear or two)

I don't really know how I feel about I Hunt Killers yet. I just finished it yesterday and I definitely recommend reading it with caution because it's disturbing. I really liked Jazz because he's not a stupid blind protagonist you want to strangle for not seeing what's right in front of him. It's different but I haven't formed an opinion on it yet. When I finished it though, it was about one in the night and it took me a while to go to sleep because I had serial killers on my mind. And that's not really a pleasant way to sleep, trust me.

The real gem here was In The Woods. I'ts not YA and it's so fucking amazing. It's a beautifully written book but a little too long and there's too much prose here and there but put together, it's great. It's frustrating because you never really get to the bottom of the whole mystery but I kind of really enjoyed it like that. Not everything in this world has an answer, you know? The characters really grew on me. I was kind of surprised I'd got so attached to Rob, the main protagonist. The story left me feeling so sad and kind of in the dark but not in a bad way... if that makes sense. It's not a happy read but definitely worth checking out. I want to read the next few books in the series (it's called The Dublin Murder Squad) but Rob doesn't feature so I don't know if I want to read them right now.

Anyway, that was my reading list for the last one month. I'd better study or whatever for my midterms next week.


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